Marcellus girls win to advance to state championship soccer game

Marcellus denfender Emily Pawlewicz tries to get the ball out of Marcellus territory during Friday's Class B state semifinal soccer game at Homer High School. On the left is Nikki Rocco; at right is Jessie Manahan. (Lauren Long / The Post-Standard)

Tears of joy were running down the faces of just about every player on the Marcellus Mustangs’’ girls soccer team after a thrilling 2-1, come-from-behind win against Center Moriches at Homer High School on Friday.

Kathryn Busa scored two clutch goals in the final seven minutes of regulation to capture the victory for the Mustangs. The Mustangs live to play one more game for the Class B state championship, Saturday against either Greece-Odyssey or Bronxville at SUNY Cortland.

“I was just in shock” said Busa who immediately broke down and left the field because of the intense emotional moment following her second goal. “The adrenaline wore off. Just oh my gosh, this is crazy!”

Marcellus came out hard and fast, and for the first five minutes of the game controlled possession and the majority of the scoring chances. However, it was the Center Moriches Red Devils who scored first. Twenty-five minutes into the first half, off of a throw-in that got deflected, Jordan Sanders found herself with the ball at her feet and buried it for the first score of the game.

From there on out, it seemed to be the Red Devils’ game, as they controlled play, played solid fundamental defense and attacked when they found space.

Marcellus seemed to lack the finishing touch necessary to win the game, missing several chances to score in the second half, including a header off of a corner kick that deflected off of the crossbar.

That was until Busa stepped in. With only seven minutes remaining, Busa found herself the beneficiary of a Center Moriches defensive mistake which left no one between her and the goalie. The Red Devils’ keeper stayed close to her line, and Busa slotted a nice shot just inside the post, beating the keeper for the late equalizer.

The Mustangs would not stop, and only four minutes later, Busa found herself with the ball at her feet in an eerily similar location close to goal. This time there were defenders in front of her, but Busa would still not be denied. She arched a perfect ball that just skimmed the top of the keepers’ gloves and found its way to the back of the net.

“I saw that the goalie was a little out of place, so I just tried to put it into the open space,” said Busa.

After the game, Marcellus’ head coach Laurie Updike said that her team had to make some critical adjustments at halftime in order to win this game. “We didn’t play our game in the first half. We needed to close the gap between our backs and our midfield. That’s what helped us to find the through balls later in the game.”

Busa and her teammates find themselves one win away from a state championship, something Busa says they have thought about for a long time.

“A lot of us have been playing together since we’ve been 6 years old. This is what we’ve dreamed of. Forever.”